[2] In 1887, the United States passed the Dawes Act to begin the allotment of Indian reservations.
[4] In 1906, a statute allotting the Osage Reservation was passed that included two unique clauses.
Each headright was entitled to an equal share (1/2,229th) of the income from the Osage Mineral Estate.
The headright system was accompanied by federal laws creating guardianships for many Osage people.
In 1942, the Office of Indian Affairs changed the election rules to allow women and any descendant of an original enrollee who owned a headright to vote.
[2] Osage law also equated votes for tribal government elections with headright shares.
Non-Osage owners include the Oklahoma Historical Society, University of Oklahoma, University of Texas, Stanford University, the Catholic Church (including the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa, St. Mary's in Barnsdall, and the Immaculate Conception Church of Pawhuska), various other churches,[a] companies,[b] the estate of Daniel J. Boorstin, the Frank Phillips Foundation, and the Drummond family.
[12][10][11] Some of these entities, such as the Oklahoma Historical Society, have sought to return the headrights to the Osage Nation, but the process is slowed due to complex laws passed in 1984.